Smart plastic research tops science prizes

Two researchers who revolutionised polymer science to create never before seen molecules have been awarded the Prime Minister's Science Prize for 2011.

Professor Ezio Rizzardo of the CSIRO and Professor David Solomon of the University of Melbourne say they are "very pleased" to jointly receive the prize, which was presented at a ceremony at Parliament House in Canberra on Wednesday evening.

"We knew we had done some pretty good work, but we didn't expect this to happen," Dr Rizzardo said.

Polymers are long chains of molecules linked together. From proteins to plastics to paints, polymers have a variety of applications including car tyres and lubricants.

Building a polymer from small molecules is called polymerisation, a process that once involved a poorly controlled chain reaction, limiting its use.

Dr Rizzardo and Dr Solomon's breakthrough has made the process more reliable and easier to control.

"We have devised ways to put these molecules together in a controlled, step-wise manner, which allows us to tailor-make polymers," Dr Rizzardo said.

For companies involved in polymer chemistry, it has opened up 500 patents worth of possibilities, and counting.

Rewriting the theory

By capping the growing end of a polymer with nitroxide, Dr Solomon and Dr Rizzardo found a way to stop polymerisation early, allowing them to study it after only two or three links had been made.

In a stroke of serendipity, they noticed the nitroxide caps could be removed with heat. By being able to pause and restart the polymerisation reaction, the pair could adjust the content and structure of polymers by changing the chemicals available to it, allowing for an unprecedented level of control.

"We rewrote the theory," Dr Solomon said.

They also developed two new techniques for custom-building polymers.

"We have some 60 or more companies around the world using our technology to make new products," Dr Rizzardo said.

Meanwhile, they continue their own investigations into polymer chemistry.

Among other projects, Dr Rizzardo is looking at ways biomaterials can deliver drugs to targeted tissues, while Professor Solomon is testing a one-molecule-thin polymer film that may prevent evaporation from water storage.

Imagining the cosmic dawn

Professor Stuart Wyithe at the University of Melbourne was awarded this year's Malcolm McIntosh prize for Physical Science for his work on the physics of the formation of the universe.

Dr Wyithe describes the universe shortly after the Big Bang as a very smooth and simple place, devoid of stars and galaxies.

Hundreds of million years later, the "epoch of re-ionisation" began, in which the first galaxies appeared and the universe became very hot - sometimes referred to as the "cosmic dawn", Dr Wyithe said.

"We don't know when it happened.

"By studying the re-ionisation transition, we study the early galaxies."

As a theoretical astrophysicist, his theories help develop testable hypotheses for the next generation of telescopes.

"The SKA (Square Kilometre Array) will be revolutionary for this topic," he said.

Australia and South Africa have been short-listed to host the SKA, which will be the world's largest radio telescope.

One of its projects will be to examine the time when the first protogalaxies formed.

Dr Wyithe believes his work will help researchers optimise the telescope to measure this mysterious period.

New kind of chlorophyll

Meanwhile, the Science Minister's Prize for Life Scientist of the Year was awarded to Associate Professor Min Chen of the University of Sydney, for her research into chlorophyll, a molecule plants and bacteria use to capture energy from the sun.

Last year, Dr Chen discovered the first new form of chlorophyll in 67 years.

Labelled chlorophyll f, it was found in cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, which build and live in the ancient rock-like stromatolites at Shark Bay in Western Australian.

"The project I set up was looking for another chlorophyll, chlorophyll d," Dr Chen said.

When the samples revealed not only chlorophyll d but also a completely new form of chlorophyll, "that was a very exciting moment," Dr Chen said.

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